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News Filed Under Leadership

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Long before Charlie Weatherly earned the state’s 2015 Master Gardener of the Year honor, his family roots were dug deep into the Mississippi soil.

Although he retired from Mississippi State University in 1997, Weatherly has not strayed far from the land-grant institution’s campus or mission. How could he? As a child, he frequently came to campus with his father, Ernest, who was a county agent for what is now the MSU Extension Service.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Young Mississippi 4-H leaders will tour six business cooperatives across the state, honing leadership skills in a July 21-23 conference.

Along with their adult leaders, the group includes 46 4-H Congress first-place winners, state 4-H Ambassadors and state 4-H Council officers. They will tour business cooperatives in Mayhew, Greenwood, Scott and Greenville before returning to Mississippi State University.

DURANT -- A group project in Holmes County is one small town’s effort to end Mississippi’s national reign as the leader in obesity.

Detra Bishop, pastor of the John Wesley United Methodist Church in Durant, just marked the first anniversary of her church’s Health Education Center. She started the center in March 2013, involving people from other churches and a variety of contributing organizations.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- People like graduate student Alyssa Barrett are turning the Mississippi State University goal of international outreach into reality.

Barrett, a master’s student in agricultural and Extension education from Wiggins, went to the West African nation of Ghana in March to collect data for her thesis, which is examining the effectiveness of an agricultural education program. In 2013, she traveled to Nigeria to teach the same agricultural program.

The group constructed its 100th salad table, which is designated for donation to the University of Southern Mississippi’s Office of Sustainability. It is one of many the group has donated throughout the last year.

When the Pine Belt Master Gardeners built two raised beds for demonstration at the Mississippi State University Lamar County Extension office in 2013, they did not expect the educational project to become so popular.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is tuning up its sewing machines as the requests for sewing classes stack up.

“Everything old is new again,” said Sylvia Clark, family and consumer sciences Extension associate. “There is a renewed interest in sewing, in making clothes and items for the home that reflect a personal sense of style and save money.”

Most schools in Mississippi, like those in many other states, no longer offer sewing classes.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Jerry Don Keith has been gardening for years, but he had the best garden he’s ever grown after he attended the Master Gardener training last spring.

“I knew I had a lot to learn, but I had no idea that the Master Gardeners would cover so much,” Keith said. “It’s not just about vegetable gardening, but trees, weeds, grass and soil. It’s learning what to do in gardens and yards. Sometimes the little things we learn are the most important.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Volunteer leaders displayed their level of commitment to the state’s youth when they spent two days at Mississippi State University training in how to do their jobs even better.

The annual 4-H Volunteer Leaders Conference was held at the MSU Bost Extension Center in Starkville Feb. 28 to March 1. Mississippi 4-H is the youth development program of the MSU Extension Service. About 200 volunteer leaders attended the event.

CLEVELAND -- Little dresses sewn with love in Mississippi make their way to children in need around the world throughout the year as part of the Mississippi Homemaker Volunteers’ international project.

At the Bolivar County Extension office, local MHV president Helen Coleman gathered dresses created by her group of about a dozen members and said she expected additional fabric donations.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Two Mississippi State University administrators have been accepted into a two-year leadership development program that will connect them with food systems peers and industry professionals.

Peter Ryan, MSU associate provost, and Michael Newman, professor and director of the MSU School of Human Sciences, will join the national Food Systems Leadership Institute’s fall 2013 class.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Master Gardeners know one of the basic principles that university students around the country are discovering: Education is about more than books.

Mississippi’s horticultural educators and volunteers recently returned to campus for the Master Gardener University, hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Like many college students, Master Gardeners take part in a variety of community service projects. The educational volunteers shared these projects along with their accumulated knowledge at the conference.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Some of Mississippi’s top young people will experience the business world through a four-day state tour known as the 2013 4-H Cooperative Business Leadership Conference.

The conference involves the state’s 4-H Leadership Team members and this year’s 4-H Congress first-place, senior-level competition winners. In a July 16-19 bus tour that begins and ends at Mississippi State University, participants will stop along the way at business cooperatives in Mayhew, Meridian, Jackson, Greenville, Scott and Greenwood.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Four representatives of Mississippi State University’s Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine will participate in a national program targeting future agricultural leaders.

MSU faculty selected to participate in Leadership Development for the 21st Century: Linking Research, Academics and Extension include

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Nine teenaged 4-H leaders addressed current issues and shared their passions in hopes of winning a spot on a team representing Mississippi at the national 4-H conference in Washington, D.C.

Selected delegates will spend April 5-10, 2014, working with their peers in round-table discussions to prepare presentations for federal agencies on a variety of topics, such as texting while driving and obesity.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A Mississippi State University doctoral student recently received the inaugural Future Leaders in Science Award.

Kyle Briscoe of Liberty, Mo., is one of 12 graduate students in the nation to receive the award from the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America. He is studying agronomy at MSU.

Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution. Discrimination in university employment, programs or activities based on race, color, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, or any other status protected by applicable law is prohibited. Questions about equal opportunity programs or compliance should be directed to the Office of Compliance and Integrity.